Information processing apparatus, storage medium, and information processing method

Abstract

Provided is an information processing device, storage medium, and information processing method that can execute a processing request after determining a related user related to the processing request when the processing request is received from a processing request transmitting device. An information processing device characterized by comprising a processor that performs the following processing: receiving a device ID that identifies a processing request transmitting device and a processing request from the processing request transmitting device; and executing processing related to the processing request after determining a related user related to the processing request based on the device ID.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an information processing device, a storage medium, and an information processing method. Background Technology

[0002] It has long been known that an information processing apparatus performs processing corresponding to an input processing request, which pre-registers users of the information processing apparatus and, after determining the user associated with the input processing request, performs processing related to that processing request. By determining the user associated with the processing request, it is possible to reject the execution of processing requests from unknown (unregistered) users, or to execute processing corresponding to that user (e.g., processing such as storing object data that is the object of the processing request in a pre-registered storage area dedicated to that user) etc. (Of course, the advantages of determining the user associated with the processing request are not limited to this).

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a conference assistance system that includes a multifunction printer and a projector that projects electronic information (video signals) input from the multifunction printer. If the viewers of the projected image on the projector include viewers who do not have access to the electronic information, the system restricts the output of the electronic information from the multifunction printer to the projector.

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-280016

[0005] In an information processing apparatus that executes a processing request after identifying the user, a user ID identifying the user associated with the processing request is typically input into the information processing apparatus in a corresponding association with the processing request. Furthermore, the information processing apparatus typically determines the user associated with the input processing request based on the user ID.

[0006] However, sometimes a processing request is entered into the information processing device without the user ID. Specifically, when a processing request is sent from a processing request sending device (such as a device equipped with AI, but not limited to this) to the information processing device, sometimes the user ID of the user associated with the processing request is not entered into the information processing device.

[0007] In the scenario where a processing request is input from a processing request sending device to an information processing device, it is considered that the device ID identifying the processing request sending device is pre-registered in the information processing device. However, in authentication based solely on the device ID, the information processing device can identify the processing request sending device that sent the processing request, but cannot identify the user associated with the processing request. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The object of the present invention is to execute a processing request after determining the relevant user associated with the processing request when a processing request is received from a processing request sending device.

[0009] The invention involved in Scheme 1 is an information processing device, characterized in that it includes a processor, which performs the following processing: receiving a device ID that identifies the processing request sending device and a processing request from a processing request sending device; and after determining the relevant user related to the processing request based on the device ID, performing processing related to the processing request.

[0010] The invention involved in Scheme 2, in the information processing apparatus described in Scheme 1, is characterized in that the processor, having obtained permission from the relevant user, performs processing related to the processing request.

[0011] The invention involved in Scheme 3, in the information processing apparatus described in Scheme 1, is characterized in that the processor determines the user represented by the user ID associated with the received device ID as the relevant user based on ID association information that establishes a corresponding association between the device ID and the user ID representing the user associated with the processing request sending device represented by the device ID.

[0012] The invention involved in Scheme 4, in the information processing apparatus described in Scheme 1, is characterized in that the processor determines the user associated with the processing request sending device at the time of receiving the processing request as the relevant user based on the time schedule information representing the user associated with the processing request sending device at each time period.

[0013] The invention involved in Scheme 5, in the information processing apparatus described in Scheme 1, is characterized in that the processor determines the relevant user based on information obtained by analyzing object data that is the object of the processing request.

[0014] The invention involved in Scheme 6, in the information processing apparatus described in Scheme 1, is characterized in that the processor outputs a notification to the relevant user for obtaining permission related to the execution of the processing request.

[0015] The invention involved in Scheme 7, in the information processing apparatus described in Scheme 6, is characterized in that the processor outputs the notification to the relevant user who is able to instruct processing related to the processing request, based on the user's usage rights related to the information processing apparatus.

[0016] The invention involved in Scheme 8, in the information processing apparatus described in Scheme 3, is characterized in that, in the ID association information, for the group of device ID and user ID, a corresponding association is established as follows: indicating whether there is permission information from the user represented by the user ID related to the execution of the processing request from the processing request sending device represented by the device ID, and the processor refers to the ID association information to determine whether there is permission from the relevant user related to the execution of the processing request.

[0017] The invention involved in Scheme 9 is a storage medium characterized in that it stores an information processing program for causing a computer to perform the following processes: receiving a device ID identifying the processing request sending device and a processing request from a processing request sending device; and after determining the relevant user associated with the processing request based on the device ID, performing processing related to the processing request.

[0018] The invention involved in Scheme 10 is an information processing method, characterized by the following steps: receiving a device ID that identifies the processing request sending device and a processing request from a processing request sending device; and after determining the relevant user related to the processing request based on the device ID, performing processing related to the processing request.

[0019] Invention Effects

[0020] According to the first, ninth, or tenth embodiment of the present invention, when a processing request is received from a processing request sending device, the processing request can be executed after determining the relevant user associated with the processing request.

[0021] According to the second aspect of the invention, processing related to the processing request can be performed upon obtaining permission from the identified relevant user.

[0022] According to the third aspect of the present invention, the relevant user can be determined based on the ID association information.

[0023] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the relevant user can be determined based on the schedule information and the time of receipt of the processing request.

[0024] According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the relevant user can be determined based on information obtained through the analysis of object data.

[0025] According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, permission related to the execution of the processing request can be obtained from the relevant user through notification.

[0026] According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a notification can be output to a user who can instruct on the processing related to the processing request.

[0027] According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not a user has permission for the processing request related to the execution of the processing request based on whether or not the user has permission for the processing request from the processing request sending device, which is predefined in the ID association information. Attached Figure Description

[0028] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following figures.

[0029] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the information processing system involved in this embodiment;

[0030] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the information processing device involved in this embodiment;

[0031] Figure 3 This is a diagram representing an example of the content in a user's database;

[0032] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of ID-related information.

[0033] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating an example of timetable information.

[0034] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the processing flow of the information processing apparatus involved in this embodiment.

[0035] Symbol Explanation

[0036] 10-Information processing system, 12-IoT device, 14-Information processing unit, 18-User terminal, 20-Device management unit, 30-Communication interface, 32-Input / output interface, 34-Job processing unit, 36-Memory, 38-User database, 40-Device database, 42-ID association information, 44-Processor, 46-Job determination unit, 48-Related user determination unit, 50-Processing execution unit, 52-Allowance determination unit. Detailed Implementation

[0037] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment. The information processing system 10 is configured to include one or more IoT devices 12 and information processing devices 14 as processing request sending devices. The IoT devices 12 and information processing devices 14 are communicatively connected to each other via a communication line 16 such as a LAN or the Internet. Furthermore, the information processing system 10 is configured to include at least one of a user terminal 18 used by a user of the information processing device 14 and a device management device 20. The user terminal 18 and the device management device 20 are also communicatively connected to other devices via the communication line 16.

[0038] The IoT device 12 is a means of sending a job to the information processing device 14 as a processing request to cause the information processing device 14 to perform processing. Specifically, the IoT device 12 stores a unique device ID in its memory and sends the job and its own device ID associated with that job to the information processing device 14. The job may include object data that is the object of the job. For example, in the case of a print job that performs printing processing in the information processing device 14, the object data becomes the data printed onto the printing media (document data, image data, etc.). Of course, depending on the type of job, the object data can also be various types of data (e.g., audio data, video data, or text data, etc.).

[0039] The IoT device 12 does not send a user ID that uniquely identifies the user associated with the task to the information processing device 14. Therefore, the IoT device 12 can also be a device that can be used without user authentication (in other words, the IoT device 12 does not know the user).

[0040] The IoT device 12 can be any device as long as it can send the job and device ID to the information processing device 14. For example, the IoT device 12 can be a device that autonomously sends the job and device ID without relying on instructions from the user. Examples of such devices include, for instance, an AI-equipped whiteboard that autonomously sends jobs related to processing (e.g., printing) involving user-written content. Alternatively, an AI robot that is also equipped with AI and autonomously operates the information processing device 14 to input jobs can be an example. Furthermore, the IoT device 12 can also be a device that non-autonomously sends the job and device ID based on instructions from the user. However, as mentioned above, even in this case, the IoT device 12 does not send the user ID to the information processing device 14.

[0041] The information processing apparatus 14 is an apparatus that performs processing related to the received job. Specifically, in this embodiment, the information processing apparatus 14, upon receiving a job and a device ID from the IoT device 12, determines the user associated with the job (i.e., the relevant user) based on the device ID and then performs processing related to the job. The information processing apparatus 14 may be, for example, an image forming apparatus with functions such as printing, copying, scanning, faxing, or saving electronic documents; however, it can be any apparatus as long as it can perform job-related processing after determining the relevant user. Details of the information processing apparatus 14 will be described later.

[0042] User terminal 18 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a tablet terminal or a fixed personal computer. User terminal 18 is configured to include a communication interface for communicating with information processing device 14, a memory such as a hard disk, ROM (Read Only Memory) or RAM (Random Access Memory), a display such as a liquid crystal display, an input interface such as a mouse, keyboard or touch screen, and a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or microcomputer.

[0043] Device management device 20 is a device for managing IoT device 12, particularly managing the usage schedule of IoT device 12. Specifically, device management device 20 manages the schedule information of users associated with each IoT device 12, representing each time period. For example, if IoT device 12 is an AI whiteboard and it is installed in a meeting room, device management device 20 manages the usage reservation information for that meeting room. This usage reservation information includes the implementation time period of each meeting in the meeting room where IoT device 12 is installed, and information about the participants in each meeting. In this case, it is possible to estimate that one or more participants attending a meeting are users associated with IoT device 12 during the implementation time period of that meeting. Of course, by managing users associated with IoT device 12 on a time-period basis, any information can be managed in device management device 20.

[0044] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the information processing device 14. The following is a reference to... Figure 2 The various parts of the information processing device 14 will be described.

[0045] The communication interface 30 is configured to include, for example, a network adapter. The communication interface 30 functions to communicate with other devices via the communication line 16. Specifically, the communication interface 30 receives the job and device ID from the IoT device 12. Furthermore, the communication interface 30 sends notifications (described later) to the user terminal 18. Additionally, the communication interface 30 accesses the device management device 20 to obtain schedule information managed by the device management device 20.

[0046] The input / output interface 32 is configured, for example, to include an input interface such as a touch panel or buttons and an output interface such as an LCD display or speaker. Users can use the input interface to input various instructions to the information processing device 14. Furthermore, if the IoT device 12 is an AI robot or the like, the IoT device 12 can also be configured to use the input interface to input job and device IDs or instructions to the information processing device 14. Various information related to the information processing device 14 is output from the output interface.

[0047] The job processing unit 34 executes the jobs received by the information processing device 14. For example, if the information processing device 14 is an image forming apparatus, the job processing unit 34 may include a printer configured to perform printing processing, which includes a paper feeding mechanism, a photosensitive drum or cartridge, or an image scanner for performing scanning processing (generating image data by optically reading the original as a printing medium). Of course, the job processing unit 34 may adopt various structures depending on the jobs that the information processing device 14 can handle.

[0048] The memory 36 may be configured to include, for example, a hard disk, an SSD (Solid State Drive), ROM, or RAM. The memory 36 may be separate from the processor 44 (described later), or at least partially located within the processor 44. The memory 36 stores information processing programs for operating various parts of the information processing device 14. Furthermore, as... Figure 2 As shown, the memory 36 stores user DB (database) 38, device DB 40 and ID association information 42.

[0049] User DB38 is a database that stores information related to users of the information processing device 14. In other words, it can be said that the users whose information is stored in User DB38 are users of the information processing device 14. For the information processing device 14, users are registered by the administrator of the information processing device 14 or by the users themselves, and the various information entered during user registration is stored in User DB38.

[0050] Figure 3 This is a diagram representing an example of the content of user DB38. For example... Figure 3 As shown, the information stored in user DB38 includes user ID, the user's permission information related to the use of information processing device 14, and the user's contact information.

[0051] A user ID is a unique identifier used by the information processing device 14 to identify a user. The information processing device 14 assigns a user ID during user registration.

[0052] Permission information refers to a user's usage rights related to the information processing device 14. The permission information includes the content that the user is allowed to process as instructed by the information processing device 14, and the time period during which the user can use the information processing device 14. Each user's usage rights can be set during user registration. Figure 3 An example is the user DB38 when the information processing device 14 is an image forming device with printing function. Figure 3In the example, print permissions, tray permissions, and the time period that can be processed are shown as permission information. Of course, depending on the type of information processing device 14 (in other words, the type of processing that information processing device 14 can perform), various different information can be stored as permission information in the user DB38.

[0053] Printing permissions refer to the user's rights regarding the types of printing processes indicated by the information processing device 14. Examples of printing processes include, for instance, color printing or single-sided printing. Figure 3 In the example, for the user represented by user ID "U0001", "〇" is marked for both color printing and single-sided printing, indicating that the user has the authority to instruct the information processing device 14 to perform color printing and single-sided printing. On the other hand, for the user represented by user ID "U0002", "×" is marked for color printing, indicating that the user does not have the authority to instruct the information processing device 14 to perform color printing.

[0054] Tray permissions refer to the permissions a user has to specify the type of paper tray to use in the information processing device 14. When the image forming apparatus 14 has multiple paper trays, usage permissions for each paper tray (typically containing different types of paper) can be set for each user. In particular, in... Figure 3 In the example, as tray permissions, the usage permissions for a special tray set with special paper (e.g., premium paper or thick paper) are shown. Figure 3 In the example, the user ID "U0001" is marked with "〇" for the special tray icon, indicating that the user has permission to use the special tray icon. On the other hand, the user ID "U0002" is marked with "×" for the special tray icon, indicating that the user does not have permission to use the special tray icon.

[0055] The "processable time period" refers to the time period during which a user can use the information processing device 14; in other words, it represents the time period during which a user can instruct the information processing device 14 on task-related processing. In the information processing device 14 according to this embodiment, a time period during which the user can use the information processing device 14 can be set for each user, and the set time period is shown in the "processable time period". Figure 3 In the example, the user ID “U0001” is marked as “8:00~14:00” as the time period that can be processed, which means that the user can only use the information processing device 14 between 8:00 and 14:00 every day.

[0056] This can be a means of contact, such as information identifying the user's terminal 18 or the user's email address. The contact method can also be set during user registration. The contact method is referenced when notifying the user from the information processing device 14.

[0057] Of course, the information stored in the user DB38 is not limited to the above. For example, the user DB38 may contain authentication information (e.g., liveness information or password) used for user authentication by the information processing device 14, or user attribute information (user's name or department, etc.).

[0058] Return to Figure 2 Device DB40 is a database that stores device IDs that uniquely identify IoT device 12. The administrator of information processing device 14 or similar personnel registers IoT device 12 with information processing device 14, and the device ID of IoT device 12 entered during registration is stored in device DB40. The IoT device 12 represented by the device ID stored in device DB40 is an IoT device 12 intended to input tasks to information processing device 14 (in other words, allowed to input tasks). That is, information processing device 14 does not process tasks from IoT devices 12 represented by device IDs that are not registered to device DB40.

[0059] ID association information 42 is information that establishes a correspondence between the device ID stored in device DB40 and the user ID stored in user DB38. The user ID associated with the device ID represents a user related to the IoT device 12 represented by that device ID. For example, a device ID representing a certain IoT device 12 is associated with a user ID representing a user who is the spare parts manager of that IoT device 12. ID association information 42 is pre-created by the manager or user of information processing device 14 and stored in memory 36.

[0060] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the content associated with ID association information 42. In Figure 4 In the example, user ID "U0002" is associated with device ID "D0001". This indicates that the user represented by user ID "U0002" is associated with the IoT device 12 represented by device ID "D001". Furthermore, if there are multiple individuals managing the spare parts of an IoT device 12, the ID association information 42 can contain multiple user IDs associated with a single device ID. For example, Figure 4 In this example, device ID "D0002" is associated with user ID "U0001" and user ID "0004".

[0061] For example, such as Figure 4As shown, in ID association information 42, corresponding execution permission information can also be established for the group of device ID and user ID. This execution permission information indicates whether the user represented by the user ID has given permission for the execution of a task related to the IoT device 12 represented by the device ID. For example, for the group of device ID "D0001" and user ID "U0002", the execution permission information "〇" is marked, which indicates that the user represented by user ID "U0002" has pre-permitted the execution of a task from the IoT device 12 represented by device ID "D0001". Furthermore, for the group of device ID "D0002" and user ID "U0004", the execution permission information "×" is marked, which indicates that the user represented by user ID "U0004" has not permitted the execution of a task from the IoT device 12 represented by device ID "D0002". A detailed explanation related to user permission to execute tasks will be described later.

[0062] Return to Figure 2 Processor 44 refers to a processing device in a broad sense, configured to include at least one of general-purpose processing devices (e.g., CPU) and special-purpose processing devices (e.g., GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or programmable logic devices). Processor 44 may also be composed not of a single processing device, but of the cooperation of a plurality of processing devices located in physically separate locations. Figure 2 As shown, the processor 44 functions as a job determination unit 46, a related user determination unit 48, a processing execution unit 50, and an permission determination unit 52 through the information processing program stored in the memory 36.

[0063] When the information processing device 14 receives a job, the job determination unit 46 determines whether it has also received a device ID associated with that job. For example, if the IoT device 12 sends the job and device ID to the information processing device 14 via the communication line 16, the job determination unit 46 determines that it has also received a device ID associated with that job, i.e., the device ID exists. Furthermore, even if an IoT device 12, such as an AI robot, which is authenticated by the information processing device 14 using the device ID, inputs a job through the input / output interface 32, the job determination unit 46 determines that a device ID associated with that job exists. On the other hand, if a user sends a job (and user ID) to the information processing device 14 from the user terminal 18, or if a user authenticated by the information processing device 14 using the user ID inputs a job through the input / output interface 32, the job determination unit 46 determines that a device ID associated with that job does not exist.

[0064] Furthermore, the processing when the job determination unit 46 determines that there is a device ID associated with the received job is as described later. However, if the job determination unit 46 determines that there is no device ID associated with the received job, as in the past, the processor 44 determines the user based on the input user ID and then causes the job processing unit 34 to execute the job processing.

[0065] If the job determination unit 46 determines that there is a device ID related to the received job, the relevant user determination unit 48 determines the relevant user related to the job based on the device ID. The method for determining the relevant user is described below.

[0066] The first method for determining the relevant user is by referring to the ID association information 42. As described above, in the ID association information 42, a corresponding association is established between each device ID and the user ID of the user associated with the IoT device 12 represented by that device ID. Therefore, the relevant user determination unit 48 can determine the user represented by the user ID associated with the received device ID as the relevant user based on the ID association information 42.

[0067] The second method for determining relevant users is based on schedule information managed by the device management device 20 and the time of job reception. As described above, the schedule information managed by the device management device 20 displays users associated with each IoT device 12 for each time period. Therefore, at the time of job reception, users associated with the IoT device 12 represented by the device ID associated with the job can be identified as relevant users.

[0068] refer to Figure 5 Specific examples will be provided. Figure 5 This is a diagram showing an example of the content of the schedule information managed by the device management device 20. Figure 5 The schedule information shown is, in the case where IoT device 12 is an AI whiteboard and each IoT device 12 is installed in a meeting room, the meeting room usage reservation information indicating the reservation status of each meeting room. Figure 5 For example, an IoT device 12 (in this case, an AI whiteboard) represented by device ID "D0001" is set up in a meeting room "Room 1". In the meeting room "Room 1", a meeting is held in the time period "13:00 to 14:00" attended by users represented by user IDs "U0001" and "U0004".

[0069] Here, assume that the information processing device 14 receives a job and device ID "D0001" from the IoT device 12 at 13:57. At this time, the related user determination unit 48 determines the meeting room associated with the received device ID "D0001" from the schedule information. Here, the meeting room "Room 1" associated with device ID "D0001" is determined from the schedule information. Next, the related user determination unit 48 determines the meeting held in the determined meeting room "Room 1" at the time of job receipt and its participants. Here, since the job receipt time is 13:57, the meeting held in the time period "13:00~14:00" and the users represented by user IDs "U0001" and "U0004" who are participants in the meeting are determined. The users determined in this way become the related users associated with the job. The relevant user determination unit 48 can include all members of the determined meeting participants as relevant users, or it can include only a portion of the determined meeting participants (e.g., representatives such as the meeting host) as relevant users. As will be described later, there is a possibility that the information processing device 14 will notify the determined relevant users, but by limiting the number of relevant users to a small number, it has the effect of suppressing the sending of notifications to a large number of relevant users.

[0070] It is also considered that in the schedule information managed by the device management device 20, persons other than the user of the information processing device 14, i.e., the user DB38 registered to the information processing device 14 (hereinafter referred to as "non-users"), may be managed as persons related to the IoT device 12. However, since the information processing device 14 only performs operations related to the user registered to the user DB38, the related user determination unit 48 excludes non-users from determining related users. That is, non-users are not determined as related users.

[0071] In addition, Figure 5In the example, the participants of each meeting in the schedule information are represented by the user ID of the information processing device 14. However, since the information processing device 14 and the device management device 20 are different devices, sometimes identifiers other than the user ID of the information processing device 14 are used in the schedule information to manage users associated with the IoT device 12 for each time period. In this case, the associated user determination unit 48 determines the user ID of the information processing device 14 corresponding to the user identifier managed by the device management device 20 based on information indicating the association between the user ID of the information processing device 14 and the user identifier managed by the device management device 20 (e.g., a user management system within a company that has both the information processing device 14 and the device management device 20).

[0072] The third method for determining relevant users is based on object data that is an object of the job. As mentioned above, a job sometimes includes object data that is an object of the process. In this case, the relevant user determination unit 48 can determine relevant users based on information obtained by analyzing the object data that is an object of the job.

[0073] For example, when the object data is image data, the relevant user determination unit 48 can determine the relevant user based on information extracted from the image data. Specifically, when using the information processing device 14 within the construction company, and the object data is a construction site image taken at the construction site, if a bridge is captured in the image, the person in charge of the river department of the construction company can be identified as the relevant user. Furthermore, if a traffic signal is captured in the image, the person in charge of the road maintenance department of the construction company can be identified as the relevant user. And if a water supply pipe is captured in the image, the person in charge of the water supply department of the construction company can be identified as the relevant user. The heads of each department of the construction company can be obtained from the company's internal system, etc.

[0074] Furthermore, when the object data is a document file (e.g., a quotation or order form), the creator of the document file, as recorded in the document file or extracted from the metadata (attribute data) of the document file, can be identified as the relevant user.

[0075] Of course, since the object data is not limited to the examples above, the relevant user determination unit 48 can determine the relevant user based on various information obtained by analyzing various object data.

[0076] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the relevant user determination unit 48 determines the relevant user associated with the job using the first to third determination methods described above when it receives a job with a device ID. However, the timing of determining the relevant user associated with the job is not limited to this. The relevant user can be determined at least before the job is executed.

[0077] The fourth method for determining the relevant user is a method in which a user authenticated by the information processing device 14 (this user becomes the associated user) selects a job that is associated with a device ID and stored in the information processing device 14. First, when a job and device ID are received from the IoT device 12, the processor 44 associates the job with the device ID and stores it in the memory 36. In this state, when a user logs into the information processing device 14 (i.e., when the information processing device 14 authenticates the user), the associated user determination unit 48 determines from the memory 36 jobs that are associated with the device ID (more specifically, jobs not associated with the user ID) and notifies the user of a list of the determined jobs. For example, the list of jobs is displayed on the liquid crystal display of the input / output interface 32. Notification of the job list can also be made upon request from the user (e.g., when a specific button displayed on the liquid crystal display is operated). When a user selects any job, the associated user determination unit 48 determines the user identified through the authentication process as the associated user of the selected job.

[0078] Furthermore, to prevent the notification of jobs to an unspecified number of users, the relevant user determination unit 48 can also notify only the users who have logged into the information processing device 14 of jobs that meet predetermined conditions. More specifically, the relevant user determination unit 48 can also notify only the user who has logged into the information processing device 14 of the job. For example, the IoT device 12 can send the password, job, and device ID to the information processing device 14 together, and the relevant user determination unit 48 can notify only the user of the job corresponding to the password entered by the user who has logged into the information processing device 14. Alternatively, the relevant user determination unit 48 can also notify only the user of the job that has been associated with the device ID corresponding to the user ID (of the user who has logged into the information processing device 14) in the ID association information 42.

[0079] In the fourth determination method, the relevant user determination unit 48 notifies the user of the jobs that are associated with the device ID from the received jobs. When the user selects a job from the notified jobs, it determines that the associated user of that job is that user. Therefore, in the fourth determination method, it can also be said that the relevant user determination unit 48 determines the relevant user associated with the job based on the device ID. Furthermore, the time for performing the fourth determination method can be at least the period before the job is executed.

[0080] In this specification, as described above, four methods for determining relevant users related to the operation have been explained, but the relevant user determination unit 48 may also determine relevant users by other methods.

[0081] When the relevant user determination unit 48 determines a relevant user associated with a job received by the information processing device 14, the processing execution unit 50 performs processing related to that job. In other words, if a relevant user associated with the job cannot be determined, the processing execution unit 50 does not perform processing related to that job. Therefore, even when a job is received from an IoT device 12 registered with a device ID in the device DB40, if the job is completely unrelated to the user of the information processing device 14, the job can be refused execution. This allows users to use the information processing device 14 more securely. Furthermore, by determining the relevant user, the processing execution unit 50 can perform processing corresponding to the determined relevant user. For example, if the job received from the IoT device 12 is to store object data in a storage area (e.g., a folder) dedicated to the relevant user, by determining the relevant user, the storage area for the object data's storage destination can be determined, and the object data can be stored in the determined storage area. Therefore, users do not need to determine the storage area for the object data's storage destination. That is, the convenience of the information processing device 14 for each user is improved.

[0082] Furthermore, considering situations where a maximum number of prints per user is set within a specified period based on company regulations, the job received by the information processing device 14 is a print job involving multiple prints, and the situation of multiple related users associated with this job is determined. In this case, it would be unfair to subtract all processed prints related to this job from the print count held by a single related user. Therefore, the processing execution unit 50 can subtract the processed prints from the print count held by each of the multiple related users. As a method for subtracting the processed prints from the print count held by each related user, the subtraction can be done equally from the print count held by each related user, or it can be done at a ratio corresponding to the remaining print count held by each related user.

[0083] The permission determination unit 52 determines whether permission (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "permission from the relevant user") related to the execution of processing associated with the job has been obtained from the relevant user determined by the relevant user determination unit 48. If permission has been obtained from the relevant user, the processing execution unit 50 executes the processing associated with the job. If permission has not been obtained from the relevant user, the processing execution unit 50 can suspend the execution of the processing associated with the job. The method for determining whether permission has been obtained from the relevant user is as described below.

[0084] The first method for determining whether permission has been granted from the relevant user is based on a notification method to the relevant user. Specifically, the permission determination unit 52 outputs a notification to the relevant user determined by the relevant user determination unit 48, granting permission for the execution of processing related to the job. More specifically, the permission determination unit 52 refers to user DB38, determines the contact information of the determined relevant user, and outputs a notification to the determined contact information. For example, the permission determination unit 52 displays "Yes" and "No" buttons on the display of the user terminal 18 used by the relevant user, along with the string "A job has been received from device ID 'Uxxxx'. Do you allow the execution of processing related to this job?". Needless to say, when the relevant user presses the "Yes" button, a permission signal is sent from the user terminal 18 to the information processing device 14, and the permission determination unit 52 determines, based on receiving the permission signal, that permission from the relevant user related to the job has been obtained. If the relevant user presses the "No" button, a rejection signal is sent from the user terminal 18 to the information processing device 14. The permission determination unit 52 determines that no permission has been obtained from the relevant user related to the operation based on the receipt of the rejection signal.

[0085] When a plurality of relevant users are identified for a task, the permission determination unit 52 can output notifications to each of those users. In this case, the presence or absence of permission from each relevant user may differ. To address this situation, the administrator of the information processing device 14 can pre-determine the determination criteria for the permission determination unit 52. For example, a determination criterion can be established that if permission is obtained from a predetermined percentage (1 to 100%) of the plurality of relevant users, permission related to the execution of processing associated with the task has been obtained.

[0086] Different judgment criteria can also be set for each device ID (i.e., each IoT device 12). For example, sometimes the machine density (security level) of the object data for a print job sent from a first AI whiteboard located in a meeting room where access is restricted is higher than the machine density of the object data for a print job sent from a second AI whiteboard located in a meeting room used for meetings with outsiders. In this case, the judgment criteria for the first AI whiteboard can be set to be stricter than that for the second AI whiteboard, so that it is less likely to print materials with high machine density. For example, it can be set that permission is obtained from all members of a plurality of relevant users as the judgment criteria for the first AI whiteboard, and permission is obtained from any one of the plurality of relevant users as the judgment criteria for the second AI whiteboard. Such judgment criteria can be associated with device IDs and stored in device DB40.

[0087] The permission determination unit 52 can output notifications to relevant users who can instruct processing related to the job, based on the permission information of each user stored in the user DB38. For example, considering the contents of the user DB38 are... Figure 3 The content shown indicates that at 13:00, a print job received from an IoT device 12 is a color print job. The users associated with this print job, represented by user ID "U0001" and user ID "U0002", are identified. At this time, the permission determination unit 52, referring to the permission information of user DB38, determines that the user represented by user ID "U0001" can instruct color printing, i.e., can instruct processing related to this print job. On the other hand, the user represented by user ID "U0002" cannot instruct color printing, i.e., cannot instruct processing related to this print job. Therefore, the permission determination unit 52 does not output a notification to the user represented by user ID "U0002", but only outputs a notification to the user represented by user ID "U0001".

[0088] Furthermore, considering the content of user DB38 is Figure 3 The content shown indicates that at 3 PM, a task is received from an IoT device 12, and the users represented by user ID "U0001" and user ID "U0002" are identified as the users associated with the task. At this time, the permission determination unit 52, referring to the permission information of user DB38, determines that the user represented by user ID "U0001" cannot instruct processing related to the task at the time the task is received, but the user represented by user ID "U0002" can instruct processing related to the task at the time the task is received. Therefore, the permission determination unit 52 does not output a notification to the user represented by user ID "U0001," but only outputs a notification to the user represented by user ID "U0002."

[0089] Furthermore, considering that the relevant user determined by the relevant user determination unit 48 (or all relevant users if multiple relevant users are determined) cannot instruct processing related to the job due to the relevant user's access rights to the information processing device 14, the processing execution unit 50 may suspend the job without executing it because there is no output object based on the notification from the permission determination unit 52. However, the processing execution unit 50 may also execute the job by modifying the processing according to the processing that the relevant user can instruct after the permission determination unit 52 obtains permission from the determined relevant user.

[0090] For example, consider the content of user DB38 as follows: Figure 3The content shown indicates that at 13:00, a print job received from an IoT device 12 is a color print job, and the user represented by user ID "U0002" is identified as the user associated with this print job. Since this user cannot instruct color printing, it is considered that there is no output object based on the notification from the permission determination unit 52. At this time, the permission determination unit 52 confirms with the user represented by user ID "U0002" whether the print job can be executed as a black-and-white print job that the user can instruct. Then, if the user allows it, the processing execution unit 50 can perform black-and-white printing on the print job.

[0091] As an example of job modification, besides this, if the print job is for single-sided printing and the determined user cannot instruct single-sided printing, the processing execution unit 50 can execute the print job as a double-sided printing job after the permission determination unit 52 obtains permission from the user. Furthermore, if the print job is for using a special tray and the determined user cannot instruct the use of a special tray, the processing execution unit 50 can execute the print job as a job using a regular tray after the permission determination unit 52 obtains permission from the user.

[0092] Furthermore, even if the job's reception time is not included in the processing time period of the determined relevant user, it is generally considered that there is no output object based on the notification from the permission determination unit 52. However, in this case, the permission determination unit 52 outputs a notification to the relevant user to obtain permission related to the execution of processing associated with the job. If permission is obtained from the relevant user, the processing execution unit 50 may also wait until the time included in the processing time period of the relevant user before executing the job. When a plurality of relevant users are determined, and the job's reception time is not included in the processing time period of any of the relevant users, the permission determination unit 52 outputs a notification to the relevant user with the processing time period closest in time to the job's reception time. If permission is obtained from the relevant user, the processing execution unit 50 may also wait until the time included in the processing time period of the relevant user before executing the job.

[0093] The second method for determining whether there is permission from the relevant user is by referring to the ID association information 42. As described above, in the ID association information 42, for groups of device IDs and user IDs, a corresponding association is sometimes established to execute permission information. In this case, the permission determination unit 52 can determine whether there is permission from the relevant user based on the ID association information 42.

[0094] For example, consider ID association information 42 is Figure 4The content shown is received from the IoT device 12 represented by device ID "D0001", and the user ID "U0002" is determined to be the user associated with the operation. At this time, the permission determination unit 52 refers to the ID association information 42 and, based on the execution permission information "0" that establishes a corresponding association with the device ID "D0001" and the user ID "U0002", determines that permission related to the operation has been obtained from the associated user. Furthermore, considering that the ID association information 42 is... Figure 4 The system receives a task from the IoT device 12 represented by device ID "D0004" and determines that the user represented by user ID "U0423" is the relevant user for the task. At this time, the permission determination unit 52 refers to the ID association information 42 and, based on the execution permission information "×" that establishes a corresponding association between device ID "D0004" and user ID "U0423", determines that permission from the relevant user related to the task has not been obtained.

[0095] Considering that in the case where a plurality of associated users are identified for a task input from an IoT device 12, the execution permission information for each associated user in the ID association information 42 may differ from each other. For example, in Figure 4 In the example, the execution permission information for the group of device ID "D0002" and user ID "U0001" is "0", but the execution permission information for the same group of device ID "D0002" and user ID "U0004" is "×". Furthermore, for a job received from device ID "D0002", sometimes the user represented by user ID "U0001" and the user represented by user ID "U0004" are identified as related users. To address this situation, similar to the first determination method, the administrator of the information processing device 14 can pre-determine the determination criteria of the permission determination unit 52. For example, it is also possible to determine a determination criterion that, if permission is obtained from a plurality of related users at a predetermined proportion (1 to 100%), permission related to the execution of processing associated with the job has been obtained.

[0096] In this specification, as described above, two determination methods have been explained as methods for determining whether or not permission has been obtained from the relevant user. However, the permission determination unit 52 may also determine whether or not permission has been obtained from the relevant user by other methods.

[0097] The outline of the information processing apparatus 14 according to this embodiment is as described above. Hereinafter, reference will be made to... Figure 6 The flowchart shown illustrates the processing flow of the information processing device 14.

[0098] In step S10, the information processing device 14 receives the job.

[0099] In step S12, the job determination unit 46 determines whether there is a device ID that corresponds to the job received in step S10. If there is no device ID, the process proceeds to step S14, where the processor 44 authenticates the user, and the processing execution unit 50, after confirming the user through user authentication, performs processing related to the job received in step S10. If there is a device ID, the process proceeds to step S16.

[0100] In step S16, the relevant user determination unit 48 determines the relevant user associated with the job received in step S10. The method for determining the relevant user is as described above, so a detailed description is omitted here.

[0101] In step S18, the permission determination unit 52 determines whether permission related to the execution of the job received in step S10 has been obtained from the relevant user identified in step S16. The method for determining whether permission has been obtained from the relevant user is as described above, and therefore a detailed description is omitted here.

[0102] With permission from the relevant user, in step S20, the processing execution unit 50 performs processing related to the job received in step S10.

[0103] Without obtaining permission from the relevant user, in step S22, the processing execution unit 50 stops performing the processing related to the job received in step S10.

[0104] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0105] For example, the function of the information processing device 14 according to this embodiment can be performed through the cooperation of multiple devices, rather than through a single device. In this case, the collection of the multiple devices is equivalent to the information processing device 14. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the user DB38, device DB40, and ID association information 42 are stored in the memory 36 of the information processing device 14, but these can also be stored in other devices that can communicate with the information processing device 14.

[0106] The embodiments of the present invention described above are provided for illustrative purposes. Furthermore, these embodiments do not encompass the entirety of the invention, nor do they limit the invention to the disclosed methods. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations will be readily understood. These embodiments were chosen and described to most readily explain the principles and applications of the invention. Thus, those skilled in the art can understand the invention through various modifications that are assumed to be optimized for specific uses of various embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined by the foregoing claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An information processing device, characterized in that, Equipped with a processor The processor performs the following processing: Receive from the processing request sending device a device ID that identifies the processing request sending device and a processing request; and After determining the relevant user associated with the processing request based on the device ID, it is then determined, based on the permission information related to the use of the information processing device, whether the relevant user has the permission to instruct processing related to the processing request at the time of receiving the processing request. When it is determined that the relevant user has the required permissions, the processing related to the processing request is executed. When it is determined that the relevant user does not have the required permission, and permission has been obtained from the relevant user, the processing related to the processing request is executed when the permission information indicates that the relevant user has the required permission. When it is determined that there are multiple related users associated with the processing request, and none of the multiple related users have the permission at the time the processing request is received, a notification is output to a specific related user among the multiple related users to obtain permission related to the execution of the processing, wherein the time at which the specific related user has the permission is closest in time to the time of receipt. If permission is obtained from the specific relevant user, the process is executed after waiting for the specific relevant user to have the specified permissions.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The processor, having obtained permission from the relevant user, performs processing related to the processing request.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The processor determines the user represented by the user ID associated with the received device ID as the relevant user based on ID association information that establishes a corresponding association between the device ID and the user ID representing the user associated with the processing request sending device represented by the device ID.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The processor determines the user associated with the processing request sending device at the time of receiving the processing request as the relevant user based on the schedule information representing the user associated with the processing request sending device in each time period.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The processor determines the relevant user based on information obtained through analysis of object data that is the object of the processing request.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The processor outputs a notification to the relevant user to obtain permission related to the execution of the processing request.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, The processor outputs the notification to the relevant user who can instruct the processing related to the processing request, based on the user's usage rights related to the information processing device.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, In the ID association information, for the group of device ID and user ID, a corresponding association is established as follows: indicating whether there is permission information from the user represented by the user ID related to the execution of the processing request from the processing request sending device represented by the device ID. The processor refers to the ID association information to determine whether there is permission from the relevant user related to the execution of the processing request.

9. A storage medium, characterized in that, It stores information processing programs for causing the computer to perform the following processes: Receive from the processing request sending device a device ID that identifies the processing request sending device and a processing request; and After determining the relevant user associated with the processing request based on the device ID, it is determined whether the relevant user has the authority to instruct the processing related to the processing request at the time of receiving the processing request, based on the permission information related to the use of the information processing device. When it is determined that the relevant user has the required permissions, the processing related to the processing request is executed. When it is determined that the relevant user does not have the required permission, and permission has been obtained from the relevant user, the processing related to the processing request is executed when the permission information indicates that the relevant user has the required permission. When it is determined that there are multiple related users associated with the processing request, and none of the multiple related users have the permission at the time the processing request is received, a notification is output to a specific related user among the multiple related users to obtain permission related to the execution of the processing, wherein the time at which the specific related user has the permission is closest in time to the time of receipt. If permission is obtained from the specific relevant user, the process is executed after waiting for the specific relevant user to have the specified permissions.

10. An information processing method, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Receive from the processing request sending device a device ID that identifies the processing request sending device and a processing request; and After determining the relevant user associated with the processing request based on the device ID, it is then determined, based on permission information related to the use of the information processing device, whether the relevant user has the authority to instruct processing related to the processing request at the time of receiving the processing request. When it is determined that the relevant user has the required permissions, the processing related to the processing request is executed. When it is determined that the relevant user does not have the required permission, and permission has been obtained from the relevant user, the processing related to the processing request is executed when the permission information indicates that the relevant user has the required permission. When it is determined that there are multiple related users associated with the processing request, and none of the multiple related users have the permission at the time the processing request is received, a notification is output to a specific related user among the multiple related users to obtain permission related to the execution of the processing, wherein the time at which the specific related user has the permission is closest in time to the time of receipt. If permission is obtained from the specific relevant user, the process is executed after waiting for the specific relevant user to have the specified permissions.

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